


ain't no secret in a southern town

by MythologicalHoe



Series: there's something out there that keeps us awake at night [1]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Western, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cowboys & Cowgirls, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mild Blood, Murder, Revenge, Southern Gothic, Suspense, Undead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-14 22:27:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20608352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MythologicalHoe/pseuds/MythologicalHoe
Summary: Black Kyber is always the same. Eat, Church, Work, Sleep. But something supernatural about the town highlights the corruption that has been killing so many people for such a long time.Or, a young girl needs to feed on the souls of those who wronged her





	1. enough to drive a young man insane

The Deadlands made monsters of it’s patrons. Black Kyber station sat on the edge of the Deadlands. It was a stale and brittle place, where the men are self obsessed and the women are hateful. The church had been erected out of brick and mortar, it’s white steeple reminded onlookers of the sun bleached bones in the shallow graves near the back of the church. Everything seemed to be built in a concentric group of circles that made the church the center of everything, just how the pastor and founder Mr. Snoke had designed it to be. “All praise god,” and shit like that. 

Kylo Ren was the sheriff of that godforsaken town of Black Kyber, and the second most important man in that town. That didn’t make him any more liked though. People came to the sheriff to complain about their neighbors beating their wives too loudly or that weird creaking noise that was in their house. The people that came and complained about the church — well it was Kylo’s job to make them disappear. Even if he didn’t like that part of his job, he did it and he did it well. 

Black Kyber rarely ever saw excitement. 

Ever.

And then a new gal came to town. There were whispers of a new shadow travelling north, an outlaw that desecrated the holy ground she walked on. 

_ Southern dramatics, was what this had to be. Really. She was probably just some normal kid that was a little too sexually promiscuous for Black Kyber’s liking.  _ Was Kylo’s thought process. Snoke seemed awfully concerned about a newcomer in his town though. “When this woman comes in town, arrest her.” He said that morning when she was about to arrive.

“You know that not even you have enough power to make that happen,” Kylo usually didn’t ask why Snoke wanted something done, he usually just did it. But today was hotter than hell and he was interested in bending the law like that. “The law’s the law and we don’t arrest people on sight in this town, so unless I catch her murderin’ or stealin’ stuff I can’t help you in that department. If she really is an outlaw, then I’ll arrest her the second she does somethin’ bad.” Snoke looked panicked for the slightest second, but then his expression changed and he smiled. 

“Yes, that’ll do then.” He turned on his heels and left. The day went on, the workers slaved in the heat and congregated around the church to pray for whatever needed to be prayed for that day. Still, no girl. It seemed that Kylo went out at the right time though. The air had this weird quality, like it was actively trying to suffocate everything that breathed it in. He coughed a little and took a swig from his flask, turning to look at the burning horizon. 

There was a shape in the distance, a dark, black thing. Something Kylo realized was a horse and it’s rider coming straight for the town. The closer it got, the more Kylo became uneasy. The horse was pure white, almost unnaturally so. And atop the horse was a rider, and for a second he swore that he saw a sickle with that rider. It was almost as if the rider was death themselves. As the rider got closer, he realized that the rider did not, in fact, have a sickle with him. He didn’t know why he would feel such a thing. 

He felt some unease and apprehension when the horse and it’s rider finally got closer to the sheriff’s station. He stepped out into the middle of the dusty street and put his hand on the gun when a girl dropped off the horse, taking the tan cloth that she had been wearing to shield herself from the sun off. “Ah, howdy sheriff.” She smiled. She didn’t have a southern accent, like the people from around here. It was light and airy, almost British. Almost. There was just a hint of the south there, like she was some sort of tourist that came here for some messed up reason. Did they say she was traveling north? 

“Howdy,” He said, “newcomer.” Besides from the tan cloth she had been wearing to cover her head from the sun, she wore all black. Like some sort of vampire that crawled out from the holes of the plateaus in the further Unknown Regions. He backed up a few steps when she walked forward. People here weren’t friendly like that, he didn’t expect her to be friendly either. “What’s your name?” 

“Rey,” She said. She wore pants. Women around here didn’t do that, but Kylo understood that if this was just her riding outfit. 

“Last name?” 

“Nobody,” She said. 

“Rey Nobody? You playin’ a joke or somethin’?” He could see the younger girl roll her eyes. His eyes flitted to the saloon. From the eyes peeking out, trying to see what was happening. 

“Did I do somethin’ wrong, Sheriff?” 

“I heard talks of an outlaw, comin’ to these parts. Wanted to make sure that wasn’t you.” She got closer. This time Kylo didn’t back up. There was something off about this girl. Her eyes were glassy and her skin was a little too lively for someone who must’ve been travelling day and night in the Deadlands. Day and night, alone. What woman was insane enough to do that? 

“I don’t plan on causing any trouble.” She said. Her eyes were dark and glassy, her hair a little too well done. “Just passin’ through. Gonna take a little break before I’m on my merry way.” He nodded. There was nothing he could do about that. 

“Well good,” He took his hand off his pistol and gestured around. “Welcome to Black Kyber,” 

*

Rey was glad that she wasn’t going to be given any more trouble from the Sheriff. She had dealt with men like that before, and although those memories were hazy, she knew that she won most of those fights.  _ Most  _ of them. She smiled and went to the saloon first. She didn’t have much to her name, but she had enough for a drink of ale before she shacked up in the Inn at that moment. She could feel eyes on her when she entered the saloon, and despite the fact that she smiled and tried to give a nonthreatening aura, people still looked at her like she was some sort of wendigo. 

She didn’t know why. 

*

Rumours spread fast in this town. No one wanted to house Rey’s stallion and soon, Kylo had to offer to put him in the outpost next to his own. “Thank you,” She said. She held down her liquor so well. Kylo heard that she had been drinking in the saloon like a sailor just five minutes before she had come out to talk to him about her steed. She wasn’t even slurring. Kylo stared at her more, unsure of what made her so —  _ off putting.  _ There was something about her that just made his stomach twist into knots. “Why are you staring, Sheriff?” She asked. “I already told you that I didn’t intend on getting into any trouble.” 

“I didn’t mean to stare at you,” He told her truthfully, “I was just wondering, what’s a pretty girl like you doing traveling the Deadlands by yourself. It can be really scary out there.” 

Rey shrugged. “Really? I don’t think it’s that scary out there.” 

“Really?” 

“Grew up out there,” She said, “can remember the Deadlands better than my own parents.” That sentence sent chills through Kylo. Something was wrong with this girl. She led her horse into the second stall next to his and closed the gate. 

“Where are your parents now?” She didn’t seem to hear that question, leaving the stalls with him and going back out into the blazing sun. 

“You know it’s actually quite cold in the deep south, in the night. You can freeze to death if you’re not careful.” It was more likely to freeze to death if you didn’t have meat on your bones. This girl didn’t have any meat on her bones whatsoever. 

“How’d you not freeze?” He asked. She blinked and looked up at him, her glassy brown eyes unreadable with some type of emotion that the Sheriff wasn’t used to. 

“I’m used to the cold,” She admitted, “thought it’d be nice to feel warm for a few nights before I get going.” 

“Where are you going to?” 

“Why are you asking?” 

“Just tryin’ to make conversation,” Rey raised an eyebrow. 

“I’ll see you later, Sheriff. I’m tired.” 

*

Snoke had a habit of barging into the Sheriff station like nobody’s business. That might’ve worked on Kylo when he was a teenager but he wasn’t a teenager anymore. He was twenty eight years old. “That girl has been here for eight hours and you haven’t apprehended her yet.” 

“All she did was pay for a drink and a room, she hasn’t done anything that warrants—” This seemed to cool the old man’s temper down just the slightest, but the revolting smile he gave when Kylo didn’t respond the way he wanted made his lunch want to make a reappearance. 

“She’s been convicted of crimes in other counties, murder, desecration of the church.”

“That’s what the townspeople have been saying,” Kylo agreed. 

“Then why aren’t we arresting her?” 

“Because we aren’t the counties she committed these crimes in? If an official from another county comes and needs to apprehend her with an official notice, I’ll apprehend her, or if she does something illegal like I’ve told you before, I will apprehend her. Why are you so eager to have this woman thrown in jail? Do you kno—” That earned Kylo a smack across the face that ended up drawing blood from his nose. 

“You don’t ask questions unless I tell you, boy. You got that? Remember who put you in this position. Alright.”  _ Or what?  _

“Yes, sir.” 

“Apprehend the woman by the end of the week,” Snoke said, “I won’t ask again, Ren.” Kylo shook his head. 

*

The Deadlands made monsters of its patrons, and Black Kyber was on the edge of the Deadlands. At night time, doors were locked and protective lines of salt were drawn across each doorstep. There was a curfew for those who wanted to stay safe. 

Do not walk the streets when the sun shines no more, that’s what the Inn Keeper told her. Rey frowned. “What kind of fun is that?” 

“Fun? What do you want more girl? Safety and no fun or fun and a knife in the belly?” Rey doubted that that would actually happen, but she decided it better to follow the curfew rule. The Sheriff looked like he was a stickler for rules. Right now the sky looked like a painter’s palette of red and oranges and a slight tinge of purple. 

The wind was starting to whistle lightly through the town, and for some reason it made the church look even more eerie to her. Like the whistling was coming from the hollowed bones of the holy place in front of her.  _ This Holy Place was desecrated long ago.  _ She had this chilling feeling in her stomach, like she knew this place. It made her sick, and Rey never got sick. 

At least she didn’t remember ever getting sick. 

“What are you doin’?” Rey jumped when she saw the Sheriff behind her. 

“Do I really look that suspicious?” She said. 

“No,” He shrugged, “just saw you standin’ really still when I was about to close up and go home so I was wonderin’ if you were okay.” That made Rey feel a little bad. Just because she thought the worst of him. That he was gonna judge her like everyone else here. 

“Just lookin’ at the church you guys have here,” She said. The Sheriff got closer to her until they were standing right by each other. “It’s quite a mighty thing compared to most of the other things here.” She paused. “Not that I’m tryin to insult—”

He raised a hand. “Black Kyber’s a pretty insignificant town if you ask me. So, no offense taken. At least not from me.” 

“If this town’s insignificant why do you stay?” 

“‘Cuz what else would I do?” He shrugged. “No one braves the Deadlands. Well — no one except you,” 

“Sounds like I’m special,” Rey said, “I thought that everyone goes in the Deadlands,” She stuck her fingers in the belt loops on her pants. “Why do you think it’s this terrifying place?” Kylo gave her some incredulous look. 

“The Deadlands make monsters of its patrons,” 

“Only if you let it,” She said, “but honestly, it’s not that bad. Compared to other places I’ve been,” 

“You didn’t strike me as an optimist,” 

“If you can’t be an optimist, you’ll live all life miserable, because life is hard and miserable, it takes a lot to find the beauty in things.” 

“Sounds like wise advice from a girl so young,” 

“I’m twenty one, I’ll have you know.” 

“Right, you’re practically an elderly woman.” 

*

Rey giggled, and it made Kylo forget that he was uneasy in the first place. He scratched the back of his head and smiled. “You’re not half bad, Sheriff.” She said.  _ Fuck.  _ “I’m gonna go in now, don’t wanna violate curfew or you’ll have to arrest me, won’t ya?” 

“Yeah,” He laughed a little, “wouldn’t want to have to do that.” He would be in deep shit for talking to her, especially past sundown. So he didn’t object when she left him there to hurry home before things started to get weird. He got to his home and closed the door, laying down the salt and the charms and sitting down on his bed. It was so quiet at night, too quiet. 

It was the type of stifling silence that made it hard to think or concentrate. Maybe that made it easier for some people to sleep, but Kylo Ren was not one of those people. He stayed awake and listened to the rapid  _ tap tap tap  _ and scratches of something trying to get inside his house. There was always something trying to get inside his house. Then he heard talking. It was too quiet to understand what was happening, and he stayed in his bed with his pistol still in it’s holster on his thigh. 

There was a girl’s voice and a man’s voice. 

“Leave this house alone,” He heard finally, “I won’t ask twice.” Exhaustion claimed him before he could figure out what was going on. 

When Kylo Ren woke up, the altar boy Armitage Hux was bleeding out from his neck near his porch. 

*

Rey had woken up with no memory of last night, but that was fine. She got up and grabbed her flask. That was the only thing that she had to her name besides her gun, after all. As she went outside, she felt like there was a different sort of energy in the place around her. Then she saw him. The old man. He looked so familiar and he came out of nowhere. 

Rey wasn’t scared of anyone, not anyone, but there was something very very wrong about him. “Ah, the young Rey, It’s so nice to meet you.” 

“Who are you?” She didn’t take his hand as he held it out. She didn’t introduce herself to strangers that knew her name. She usually shot them dead where they stood. But she didn’t want to get in trouble here. Not like she had in the last town that she visited. He looked displeased to say the least when she said that to him. 

“You can call me Reverend Snoke,” 

“Ah,” She said, “founder of Black Kyber.” She wondered how she knew that since she hadn’t heard of Black Kyber since the last town she visited. “Pleasure,” She didn’t mean that last bit in the slightest way. 

  
“You look very familiar to someone I knew,” Snoke said. “I must’ve known you, in a past life.” 

“I thought that Christians don’t believe in the past life, sir.” He shrugged. 

“I just meant to say that you’re familiar.” The more Rey looked at him, the more Rey could see something uneasy. She tore her eyes away from him and stared at a spot right above her head. Thank goodness the Sheriff came in. 

“Miss Rey, I’m gonna need to talk to you.” 

He grabbed her by the arm and led her to the station. She could see Snoke smile, and saw the other men and women of the town were staring at them. Everyone was staring. Rey wondered why this was such a spectacle. Once they entered the sheriff’s station Kylo locked the door behind her. Rey was stricken with a sudden pang of fear. “What is this?” 

“I need to ask you some questions,” 

“Why’s there blood on your hands?” 

“Where were you last night after we talked?” 

“We talked?” She blinked.  _ Oh yeah,  _ they talked. “I went back to the Inn.” He nodded, pacing around his room. 

“When did you go to sleep?” 

“I don’ know.” She told him. 

“What do you mean you don’t know?” 

“I mean I don’t know! Now what the fuck is this about?” 

“Rey, I heard you outside my door last night, and now a man's dead.” 


	2. go to the river where the water runs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh im not sure about how it turned out but it was fun to write so enjoy

**Two Months Later**

Rey was hyperventilating, there was a thick, warm coat of blood on her hands and she felt the urge to lick that very blood off of her fingers. She felt so cold, and the blood was there, beckoning her to take part in it. 

The Deadlands makes monsters of its patrons, especially it’s women, so many women were wronged out here. So many fragile girls turned into things of leather and stone in order to survive. So many things were unloved out here. “Rey,” Rey looked up to see Ben Solo staring up at her. At her blood covered hands and face. 

“I’m sorry,” She said. He took a hard gulp in and then said, 

“No, it’s okay. He deserved it.” 

*

**Two Months Before**

“I wasn’t outside your house last night,” Rey said, “I couldn’t have been. You must’ve heard somethin’. A mimic or something like that.” The sheriff nodded, eyes flitting around his surroundings. “I don’t even know where you live. I just got here.” 

“Right, right.” He said, then he turned sharply, “why couldn’t you remember that we talked last night.” 

“I’m still tryin’ to wake up,” She said. To be honest, she didn’t remember going to sleep. She didn’t even remember if she had actually gone to the right room or not. “Why are you interrogating me so, Sheriff?” 

“An altar boy’s dead,” The way he said that made Rey feel sick. 

“And you thought I did it?” 

“You have a history,” 

Rey shook her head, “I wouldn’t do that.” 

*

“It’s fine,” he said. “The body’s gone. The altar boy is missing.” 

“What do you mean the body’s gone?” 

“I dealt with it,” He said. His voice was thick and probably more threatening than he meant it to be in his head. He unlocked the door. “When are you leaving?” 

“A week from now,” 

“You better stay out of trouble for that week,” 

*

**Two Months Later**

“We need to get this cleaned up, Rey.” There were so many dead bodies. So many. So many that Rey had taken apart and tried to reassemble. She didn’t remember trying to reassemble them, their blood was on her hands. She was shaking. Shaking so much. 

“I might hurt you,” She said. 

“I’ve been hurt before,” He sighed, “I ain’t scared of you and you know that.” He knelt down to scoop her up and she didn’t try to fight him. She just cried. “Everyone here deserved it Rey, you don’t have to worry about anything. It’ll all be okay, It’ll all be okay.” 

“You’re too good for me,” 

*

**Two Months Earlier**

Rey tried to make friends. She really did. But it seemed that no one liked her. Everywhere she went she was treated like she was some disgusting piece of shit they were waiting to get out of their town and go back into the Deadlands. Rey didn’t know why but she felt like she had to stay here. There was something going on that she was supposed to witness, supposed to see. 

The only person that Rey could even have a conversation with was the very man that had accused her of murdering an altar boy, Kylo Ren. He saw her in the saloon and made a B line for her this morning. Something told Rey that he didn’t have any friends either. 

“Hey, sunshine. Why so glum?” 

“That’s not my name.” 

“I was tryin’ to think of a nickname,” Rey just rolled her eyes and took a sip of whiskey from her flask. “Are you going to eat anything?” 

“No,” She said, “why?” 

“Nothin’, it’s just, you’ve been here for a week and I haven’t seen you eat one bit—” Rey looked over Kylo’s shoulder.

“Does the preacher scare you?” Kylo glanced behind him to see her looking at a shadow that was moving incorrectly. Shadows weren’t supposed to move like that. Kylo was pretty sure that they weren’t supposed to elongate and flicker like a strange candle in the wind. Kylo felt something trickle down his face and as he turned back to Rey she said, “Your nose is bleeding.” 

*

Rey grabbed a rag from her pocket and dabbed at the blood before giving him the rag. “Tilt your head down, not up. Don’t want the blood to rush up to your brain.” 

“Thanks,” 

“You didn’t answer my question before,” 

“What was your question?” 

“Does the preacher ever scare you?” 

“Right,” Kylo said, “there are some questions that shouldn’t be asked, and shouldn’t be answered.”

“That’s not an answer,” She told him. He nodded like he knew, but that it was common sense not to answer the question in public. The walls have eyes, the walls have ears. So, he changed the conversation to something else. 

“Tell me about yourself,” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Tell me about yourself,” He repeated, “what did you do before you came here and all of that kind of stuff?” 

“I thought you already knew that stuff,” 

*

_ Rey remembered being ten years old in a church, the preacher told her to stay behind for extra prayers. Everyone thought she was sinning. Rey wasn’t sure what she did wrong. She remembered the preacher’s shadow being wrong. Like something big and scaly and… wet… Rey started having memory problems after that.  _

*

“Not all of it. I know your history but that doesn’t mean that I know you, I don’t know what you like, your favorite color, your favorite food.” Rey scrunched her nose up before a second as she thought. She wasn’t very good at talking about herself. She was great at talking to others though. 

“I like the deep blue purple that sky turns at midnight, like the sea’s fillin’ with blood. That kind of purple.” 

“That’s a very specific color,” 

“Yeah,” Rey said, “I also think I’d like green. I’ve never seen it though?” 

“Never seen what,” 

“The color green,” 

Kylo paused. “You know what? Neither have I.” 

“I’m going to find it,” She said, “past the Deadlands and the Unknown Regions. The green. It’s supposed to be a paradise up there. Green trees peppering a bunch of cities and lakes and the trees keep people safe from the monsters out in the night.” 

“I’ve never known what safety’s like, are you sure that’s real or a myth?” 

“I’d like to think that safety’s real.” 

*

Ben could see pitchforks in the distance. He shoved Rey into his house and shoved some of his clothes at her, having her change into something different than before. He had her wrap her hair up and wiped her face of the blood that had stained it before. “This is the best that I can do,” He told her, “you think you can manage.” 

She nodded numbly. 

“Remember when you told me that you wanted me to run away with you?” He asked her. She nodded. “Well, I’m doing it now. We’re getting out of here.” Into the Deadlands, a place that might’ve been more dangerous than Black Kyber itself. But he couldn’t think about how dangerous the Deadlands might be. 

He needed to make sure that Rey was safe. He took her outback and the both of them got on their horses and ran, with nothing but the clothes on their backs. 

*

When he wasn’t thinking about his job, he was thinking about Rey. How she was too beautiful. How it was off putting how alive she looked. And then he saw it for the first time. He wasn’t supposed to be out but the  _ tap tap tap  _ outside his house turned into singing, and he was stupid, he was so so stupid, but the singing made him feel safe. He felt oh so safe, and he opened the door. A black shape whooshed at him, but was intercepted by another black shape that made the other one disappear. Then they reappeared outside Kylo’s home. 

Rey’s pistol was out and her voice was cold, but it reverberated in his head like her voice was the only voice that ever existed. “Get away from that house,” She said, the thing that had tried to lure him outside hissed and brought out it’s own gun. Two gunshots fired at the same time, and both the shape and Rey collapsed to the floor. 

It was stupid. 

It was really stupid, but Kylo panicked when he saw her body there. He crossed that salt line and went right out to her body, picked her up and ran back. That singing didn’t lure him because the only thing he could focus on was right. He dropped her on his kitchen table and closed the door, re-salting the entrance before turning back to dress her wound. 

She was sitting up when he turned back to her. “What the hell are you doing?” He could see where the bullet blasted into her stomach...but there was no blood.  _ Okay what the ever loving fuck was going on.  _

“What?” 

“You just got shot, so lay do—” 

“Where am I?” 

“You were outside my house and then got shot,”  _ She definitely killed Hux, there’s no doubt about it.  _ Rey shook her head. This time she couldn’t say that she didn’t where Kylo Ren’s house was. 

  
  


Rey looked down at her abdomen. “Oh,” 

“You shouldn’t even be able to sit up right now,” 

“What do you mean?” 

“No one survives getting gut shot, Rey.” Her mouth twitched and her eyes got dangerously glassy again. Something told Kylo that he should forget what he was dealing with. That Rey never got shot in the first place and that she should be on her way. But he shook his head and said. “Lift up your shirt so I can get the bullet out.” 

“You don’t want to do that, Ben.” 

“That’s —”

“I know your name,” 

“Lift your shirt, now.” She lifted her shirt. 

That’s when he saw it. That wasn’t the only time she had been shot. There were four other bullets that were just...there. 

*

_ “I know that you fuck girls back here,” Rey shouted, “I’m not going to let you do the same to me.” She was just a little girl when Snoke picked her up by her hair and grabbed his knife, burying the blade deep in her stomach. Blood trickled out of her mouth and down onto her Sunday dress.  _

_ “Shame,” he said, “you were the prettiest one here.” He stuffed her in the back of the carriage, and that night he set off on a journey to find God. On that journey to find God, he dumped off Rey’s body and cleaned his carriage out.  _

_ That was his mistake.  _

_ The Deadlands make monsters of its patrons.  _

_ * _

She swayed back and forth on the table as Kylo Ren took all four bullets out of her. “You’re not helping me.” 

“I don’t feel anything.” She said. 

That’s not true. 

She was hungry. 

She was so hungry. Kylo’s heart was beating faster and faster by the minute. She could feel the cacophonous drumming in her ears and it was making her heart start to hurt. 

*

That morning both of them were ready to drink in the saloon bright and early. The saloon owner came in late due to his near hourly church visit. The only thing Rey spoke to him today was but a whisper. “Do you think I’m a freak?” 

“No,” He said without hesitation, “I don’t.” 

It made sense now. The glassiness. The stillness. It made sense. And now that Kylo knew why that stillness was there, he felt more at ease than he had been before around her. 

*

Rey checked out of the Inn that day. She had no more money to her name to stay there, and she didn’t feel particularly keen on robbing this place. Everything here was a circle, and it made her feel sick. She had to get out of here, she had to. But it seemed every time that she walked past the church she would walk past it again and again as if she was getting nowhere. Of course, Snoke would take this time to come up to her. “Are you doing okay, Miss Rey? You don’t look so good.” He put his thin and bony hand on her arm. His grip was strong. Too strong. 

Why was he that strong? He was an old man. Something slithered and snuck out from behind his shadow and suddenly Rey remembered a knife. The burning sensation of her organs coming out and her holding them in her hand. She doubled over and nearly threw up on Snoke’s shoes, and then she blacked out. 

When she came to she was in a cell. 

Kylo was staring at Snoke, who was shakenly talking to him about how he tried to attack her and how she needed to be tried as soon as possible. Some woman in a torn dress was agreeing with him and sobbing hysterically. Rey thought that was a bit over dramatic. Kylo nodded, saying ‘yes sir,’ a lot and nodding. He looked afraid. 

Rey blacked out again and was only woken by Kylo when they were alone, when she walked forward to the edges of the cell, she put her hands on the iron bars only to jerk back. They burned. Then Rey saw the charms etched into them and her eye twitched. “Really?” 

“Those shouldn’t burn a human,” The Sheriff got closer and stared at her. “What are you, Rey?” He didn’t ask this with any malice in her voice whatsoever and Rey wondered why. Why wasn’t he like everyone else that wanted to kill her. “I want to help you. I know there’s something wrong. There’s a reason you can’t leave this place quite yet, you have to tell me so I can help you. You have to trust me.” 

“I do, trust you.” 

“Then tell me,” 

“I don’t know what I am,” She admitted, “and I’m not bullshitting you when I say that. I really don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Tears were coming to her eyes. She didn’t know why she felt so humiliated. Then she touched the part of her stomach that had burned earlier, and lifted her shirt a little more. Past the four bullet holes that he had already patched up and to another, much older scar. One that she should not have been able to survive. The scar of the knife that had split part of her stomach open like a fish. “I think that Snoke did this,” 

*

Everything went wrong at once. 

That was the rule of Black Kyber. 

And that’s why, while Kylo was trying to figure out how to get Rey out of this godforsaken town, the sun turned black and the station started to burn to the ground. People entered with pitchforks and two seperate crowds diverged, one group taking Rey, the other group taking him and holding him back as the fire started to crackle and lick up the side of the station. 

Rey screamed and screamed and screamed. The walls reverberated and threaten to cave in everything. Kylo kicked and tried to get free but the things that held him down had an iron grip and eyes that were nearly black. Flickering in and out of lucidity. Rey was taken away from sight and the screaming stopped. 

Kylo was taken out next. 

*

Rey was still screaming as she was dragged through fire and into the dirt. There she was shackled and brought to a church where her skin burned and she felt like she was touching hot asphalt. There, long and tall shadows dressed in robes looked at her with their pointed glowing eyes. Snoke stood there, his smile wide, like it was threatening to split his face open. 

*

_ Rey came back from the sands of the Deadlands. Then she wasn’t hungry.  _

*

“What am I doing here?” 

“You’re on trial,” Snoke said simply, “for leaving the church, for desecration, for murder of the altar boy. Hux.” 

Her stomach burned. 

“We found the bloody clothes that were left behind the Inn. His. Yours. We know it was you. Admit that you’re guilty and admit that you need to be saved.” 

“And why in the ever loving fuck would I do that?” Rey asked. Her head was pounding. “You and I both know that we’re not of God,” Rey felt something at the back of her head that gave her a head splitting headache for a good five minutes. She couldn’t hear a thing. She could read lips though.  _ There was only one way to be saved. The river. The bottom of the river.  _ For a few minutes Rey was filled with fear. 

These things dragged her to her end, until she regained her footing. 

It’s the bottom of the river.

There was no one coming to save her now. 

And then the hunger came over her. 

*

Kylo didn’t know what happened, he just knew that by the time he was to the river, Rey was wet and shivering and covered in blood. She looked so cold. So cold. The station was burned to the ground and his lungs hurt so much. He picked her up so that he could take her home to his house before more people came for them and tried to kill her. Then the thing that he thought was dead raised from the sand and started to breathe, heavy, wet, ragged breaths. 

_ You put that thing down, boy.  _ Kylo held onto Rey tighter. She was covered in Snoke’s blood. Snoke. That was the thing that she had been eating when he had found her.  _ You put it down right now, remember that I made you.  _ He couldn’t see him, but he could tell that his torso was nearly completely missing, he was holding himself together by a few strings of muscle at the most. Part of jaw was missing. 

Kylo set Rey down behind him. She looked worried. “Ben,” 

“You need to leave us alone,” 

_ What makes you think I—  _ Two shots between the temple silenced the thing that was planning on terrorizing them and he fell to the ground again. Pathetic. Pathetic. Why was that thing even scary to her in the first place?

*

They got to the horses and ran, ran into the night and into the Deadlands. For the first time, Rey felt afraid. But not because they were going into the Deadlands, but because she had someone else with her. Someone else that needed a lot more protection than her. Why was he even following her? Why did he do that? 

She couldn’t ask him even though she wanted to. She just kept at it on her horse until Black Kyber was well behind her. They kept running until the sun rose and the Deadlands were safe and their horses were exhausted. They only stopped when they found a small water well. When both Kylo and the horses drank up they both took solace in the shade of the well’s cover. Rey put her head on Kylo’s shoulder, not sure how to process everything that just happened. “Run away with me,” She said. 

“Okay,” He said. He was silent for a while before he said. “How do you know that my real name was Ben?” 

“I don’t know,” Rey said. She had pieced together one part of her memory. But there was a lot of other stuff that was still not put together. It was like a broken vase. No matter how much you tried to repair it there was always still something that was just missing. Not all of the memories could fit together. “You look like a Ben though,” 

“I suppose that I’m gonna have to start going by that,” 

“I like Ben a lot better,” Rey told him, she put her hand on his lap, and he grabbed her hand instinctively. They were silent for a little bit longer before Rey said, “So, I’m dead.” 

“You look pretty alive to me,” In fact, she always looked a little too alive. Rey smiled a bit. 

“Who cares if I’m dead? You make me feel more alive than any other living being.” The both of them giggled again and Ben could feel himself smiling. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt like this, even though they were in one of the most terrifying regions in the world. “I’ll keep you alive out here,” Rey reassured him, “as long as you’re running away with me. I promise.” Rey didn’t feel hungry anymore, sated with that part of her past being put back in place. “I’ll keep you alive for as long as you feel like being alive.” She kissed his temple. 

This was going to be a long road, but with Ben, Rey would be willing to travel it.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you liked this, then subscribe to the series because I'll be doing more monster fics as a "countdown to halloween" sort of thing. Also, check out my tumblr. https://www.tumblr.com/blog/someheroesfall


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